MOGAMAD ALLIE: Disputes lead to renewed calls for professional refs to take charge of games

The new season may only be three weeks old but already familiar patterns are beginning to emerge in the Premier Soccer League (PSL). 

Mamelodi Sundowns, after four straight victories, have already opened a five-point gap at the top of the table. They will again be hard to dislodge from the top of the tree where they seem to have taken up permanent residence.   

Sadly, the boorish behaviour of a fringe element among Chiefs’ fans is also now becoming a regular but unwelcome feature at our grounds. It’s not difficult to understand the frustrations of fans whose team last lifted silverware in May 2015, but that’s no reason for them to pelt new coach Molefi Ntseki with anything they could lay their hands on following their team’s 1-0 defeat against TS Galaxy on Sunday.  

Surely the most concerning of the familiar “returnees” has to be the worrying standard of officiating in the first few weeks of action. While a plethora of wrong offside calls blighted several games in the league and the MTN8, the “goal” awarded to Moroka Swallows in their league encounter against a dumbfounded Sekhukhune United last Wednesday plummeted the ineptitude of officiating by some match officials in the PSL to new depths. 

It was deep into injury time of a game that seemed to be heading for a 1-1 draw when  Babina Noko goalkeeper Badra Ali Sangare conceded what has officially been credited as an own goal.  

The Ivory Coast international was unchallenged when he calmly gathered a harmless cross. As most goalkeepers do, he also held the ball with outstretched arms to indicate it was well in front of the goal line when he was pushed nearly into the net by Swallows striker Gabadinho Mhango, who arrived on the scene a few seconds later.   

To everyone’s astonishment, including some on the Swallows bench, referee Siyabonga Nkomo, supported by his assistant Thamaga Sebedi, awarded the phantom goal that allowed the Birds to snatch the spoils and fly away with three lucky points.  

To his credit, Steve Komphela empathised with his livid counterpart Brandon Truter after the game as the incident left even the normally smooth-talking Swallows coach biting his tongue while carefully calibrating his words.  

Speaking like someone who had just received an unwanted gift from a consignment that had fallen off a truck, a contrite Komphela said: “I should be humble enough to say, maybe, maybe the goal that we scored…”, before biting his tongue and changing tack. 

“I feel sorry for Brandon because nobody wants to suffer such a setback. [Dumisani] Zuma made a beautiful cross, the goalkeeper goes in, runs into the net or Gabs [Mhango] bundles him into the net with the ball.” 

If Komphela and his bench could see the clear push on Sangare from more than 50m away, how on earth could Nkomo, who was close enough to see the stitching on the ball, not see the clear infringement? It gives a new meaning to the oft repeated saying in sport that “maybe he was watching a different game”. 

One can’t help but let the imagination wander a little and speculate that there may have been more to the decision than meets the eye, but that’s a story for another day.

Thankfully we won’t see Nkomo and Sebedi in action in the Premiership, the second-tier Motsepe Foundation Championship or the Diski Challenge as they serve out a suspension of between four to eight weeks.   

Safa referees head Abdul Basit Ebrahim prefers to label Nkomo and Sebedi’s time away from action in the top two leagues and the SuperDiski competition as “a period of rehabilitation”.

“For a period of between four to eight weeks they will be officiating at lower levels of the game to ensure they are monitored while on their rehabilitation programme. They will be guided in implementing theoretical and technical knowledge to ensure their improvement as match officials,” said Ebrahim. 

The early-season controversies have renewed oft-repeated calls for the introduction of professional referees and the video assistant referee (VAR) system. 

It’s inconceivable how a league that prides itself as being arguably the best run on the continent still has part-time referees who do regular day jobs during the week.  

Much like the cogent argument for the introduction of a full-time professional league to allow our women’s footballers to fulfil their potential, the same applies to referees. If match officials are to deliver top performances throughout the season, as is rightly expected of them, they should be supported in every way, including being allowed to focus exclusively on officiating instead of being part-timers. 

Unfortunately, after much hype just after the 2010 World Cup amid rumours that the PSL had acquired a building to accommodate the referees’ administrative structures, the matter is no longer even on the back-burner.  

If Safa and the PSL are serious about improving the standard of officiating, they should move swiftly to ensure refereeing becomes a full-time profession at the top level. Such a move will not only improve the standard of officiating but will also serve to attract top new talent to the referees ranks and provide an attractive career path.